Shade Tree Wisdom 11/1/11

          A little heavier jacket was welcome this morning, but the air was so fresh and the morning a delight. Fall weather is moving in at last.

          Yesterday was Reformation which we observed on Sunday.  It is good for a church to stress that Day, especially if it turns our thought a bit to the history of the Church, and her work that lies in our past which assures us that we, at this late date, still have the Truth of Scripture.  That the faith alone in the work of Jesus Christ done for us is what bolsters the faith and the Lutheran life.

          So when we sing that great Reformation Hymn of Dr. Luther, the words mean much and shows the dangers they faced when they fought for the Truth of the Gospel, and tried to show false teaching and false practices.  With that in mind, these lines mean much.
               “And take they our life,
               Goods, fame, child and wife,
               Let all these be gone,
               They yet have nothing won,
               The Kingdom ours remaineth.”  LSB 636,4

          In 1877 Rev H. C. Schwan, who would be elected as president of the LC-MS a year later, preached for the 300th anniversary of the Formula of Concord at the Synodical Conference in Ft. Wayne. He showed that soon after Luther died the church faced all kinds of problems.  Many led it in false ways, chose different directions, wrangled about procedures, and the Formula of Concord brought the Church back to the truths of Scripture.

          Throughout our history there have been dark times, and the need always is to remain true to what God set down in His Holy Word.  “Add thou not into his words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” Prov. 30,5.

          I am glad this is My Church. One that holds to the truth of the words expressed therein, for that is what promises me salvation and eternal life.

          I have been doing much reading in “At Home In The House of my Fathers”, a collection of essays, sermons, convention addresses from the first hundred years of our existence as the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod.  They show how through times of stress like the civil war and the first world war, Vietnam, the rise of modern technology, the Church has been faithful to its roots.  Rev. Mathew Harrison did most of the work to gather this material.

          I pray your celebration reminds you, too, of God’s rich blessings to our Church in Christ Jesus.

GPD 11/1/11